Stress Awareness Month – The Conversation the Industry Has Avoided Too Long

April is Stress Awareness Month.
But in the equine world?

Stress isn’t discussed. It’s buried.

We glorify the grind.
We fetishise pressure.
We reward burnout with silence.

Ask anyone working in this space—especially the women.
They’re exhausted. But they keep going. Because that’s what’s expected.

At Equitas, we’ve interviewed hundreds of women across the sector.
From grooms to farriers to breeders to media workers.

One thing comes through:

Stress is constant. But no one talks about it.

We call that resilience.
But in most cases—it’s survival.
And you can’t build a healthy industry on survival mode.

Ignored stress becomes burnout.
Burnout becomes collapse.
Collapse becomes exit—or worse, quiet endurance.

Talking about stress isn’t weakness. It’s strategy.

It starts with this:

• How are you really doing?
• When was the last time you rested properly?
• When did you last feel seen?

We don’t need more performance.
We need permission to be human.

At Equitas, we commit to:

• Publishing what others won’t
• Creating space for truth over perfection
• Telling the story behind the ribbon and the reel
• Asking the hard questions before the breakdown happens

This isn’t about softness. This is about sustainability.
You can’t build an industry on people falling apart in silence.

This April, check in.
On yourself. On your teammates. On your peers.
Say something. Hear something.
Be the break in someone’s spiral.

Stress is real. But so is rest. So is recovery. So is help.

And if this industry wants to survive?
We’ve got to make space for all three.

Until next time…
– Shane